Blessed be

The start of February has come and gone and the year is pelting along again all too quickly. Our family is safe and well and for that I am so grateful. I am very distracted at the moment by something that happened in Melbourne last week. On the first day of school, a father was driving his two sons and his four y.o. daughter to school and as he was crossing the largest bridge in the area - one that is very tall to allow for shipping vessels, he pulled over to the side of the bridge, grabbed his daughter from the car and threw her off the bridge. Witnesses say it literally happened in seconds. She was rescued, but later died. And every time I think of it, it just breaks my heart. I can't help but think of what happened in the car to cause him to snap, what was he saying to her as he grabbed her, was she pleading, "Daddy, no"? I know this is really somber but it is just the most tragic thing I have heard of in a long time.
I wonder whether she was just being an annoying four y.o. (as they are) and not listening to her dad, or singing loudly or telling him to change the music on the radio, or asking for McDonalds or.......... what could a 4 y.o. do that is so bad?
And it makes me wonder whether in an age where our kids are exposed to so much more information and learn a lot at an early age, are our expectations of them too high, are we just forgetting that they are just kids? When I see in mag.s all this bullshit about designer kidswear and 'spa dates' for 6 y.o. birthday parties it just makes me angry, because it is so hollow and doesn't give kids what they need in the stage of life when they are just lapping up every thing they see and here. And I wonder whether parents now have unrealistic expectations of their kids behaviour just because they dress like 13 year olds? Are they expecting them to sit quietly in a cafe, or go and play on their own without parental interaction for long periods of time? Maybe too many parents just want their kids to sit quietly in front of the T.V. or computer so they aren't bothered by them or their noise, or have to put in too much time or effort. I know in this case it was an extreme and the man is now under psychiatric care (unfortunately too late), but being in the midst of having a toddler and all their 'special' behaviour and being out and about in public and amongst other mothers and their opinions, I just can't help wondering if we have it all turned about.
Do you know that at the moment in a magazine, there is an advertisement for an 'ecologically friendly, recyclable cubby house' for $80.00. It's a fucking cardboard box! I'm serious, it's a cardboard box that has been cut out with a roof and a chimney and little windows and amazingly(!) - kids can decorate it themselves (i.e. scribble all over it with crayons).
I have actually cut the advertisement out to keep because it spins me out so much. Look at Jim's and Tom's creation a while ago, including lookout, all for nothing....
Anyway, I'm sorry for the sad news today, but it is really bothering me that this sort of thing can happen in a country like Australia where there is Child Protection services and all sorts of departments that are supposed to be in place to prevent this sort of thing, and then I just think of that little girl and how scared she must have been and I get upset all over again.
Will have some happy news next time I write...........